The Israel Export Research Institute reported that from October 2011 to January 2012, the US share of Israeli exports had drastically declined as compared to the same period the year before. In contrast, Israel's exports to the Asian market have seen healthy growth, with an increase of 9% over the same period, totaling $3.1 billion.

The NY Times reports that Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish high school which succeeded in its appeal to reschedule a semi-final game of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools from Shabbat to Friday afternoon last week, on Saturday night lost to Abilene Christian, 46-42, in the state championship game. The final, […]

After immigrating to Israel from England in 1999 at age 50, Susan Nathan has become an outspoken pro-Palestinian advocate, appearing in the Swedish Human Rights festival and the Stockholm Olof Palme Centre, as well as forums sponsored by the Arab American Association. She came to India for medical treatment, but her visa expired and the government wants her out on suspicion of contact with extremist Muslim organizations.

Canada.com reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he “appreciated” President Barack Obama’s statements on Iran and was looking forward to discussing them when he arrives in Washington Monday. “I very much appreciated that President Obama reiterated his position that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and that […]

President Obama: "I do not have a policy of containment, I have a policy of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." He also hailed himself as Israel's greatest friend, and said he plans to honors Israeli President Shimon Peres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

AFP reports that Israel and Cyprus have signed an accord Sunday to lay an underwater electricity cable between the two countries. It’s the first stage in an effort to transfer power between mainland Europe and Israel. The cable, to be complete by 2016, will stretch 178 miles, at a depth of 6,550 feet. Israel Electric […]

MK Dannon’s Senior Advisor Jonathan Daniels told the Jewish Press the bill was conceived after a group of legislators visited a clinic for critically underweight patients and met with anorectic patients. “It was horrific,” Daniels said. “And we didn’t see just 15-year-old anorexic girls, there were men, and older women. It was incredibly distressful to see them. They were close to death.”

President Peres said "there is NO space between" Israel and the US, and insisted that Obama's "commitment to Israel is deep and profound." Regarding peace with the Palestinians, he said "the principle of the 'The Two State solution' was "a paramount Israeli interest."

Large amounts of water that swept through northern Israel and led to a strong flow of streams have produced exceptionally high figures for the National Lake's level. The Kinneret water is now at about 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) above the "lower red line." While rain may be ceasing soon, the snow thaw is expected to add even more water in the spring.

"You know it’s a myth … and you have a choice," the billboards declare, in Patterson in English and Arabic, and in Brooklyn in English and Hebrew. Next to the text on the Arabic billboard is the word Allah, and on the Hebrew sign is the Hebrew word for the Tetragrammaton, which Jews are not permitted to pronounce. Including the "Shem ham'forash" in the Hebrew billboard is particularly provocative, since it is sacred and so may not be erased in print, presenting protesters with a dilemma.

The NY Post reports that a second man was charged Friday in a series of attacks on synagogues in northern New Jersey that included the firebombing of a house of worship where a rabbi and several family members were sleeping upstairs. Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said 19-year-old Aakash Dalal of New Brunswick instigated […]

Israel’s Channel 2 News reports that in a meeting held between Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the latter clarified Israel’s position on events in Syria, stating that Israel will provide immediate humanitarian aid to the victims of President Assad. Yesterday, the Red Cross entered the besieged city of Homs to […]

Ginia Bellafante writes in the NY Times about the Park Slope coop wars we told you about a week ago (In-Fighting at Brooklyn Food Co-op over Israel Boycott). She points out the obvious: "Calling for a boycott of Israeli-made foods at the Park Slope Food Co-op turns out to be a lot like calling for a boycott of Speedos in Minsk. And, predictably, the use of a healthy food-related organization for political reasons has enraged the Hummus Party. I kid you not.

"Without exception," reads the letter from LDS President Thomas S. Monson and other church leaders, "church members must not submit for proxy temple ordinances any names from unauthorized groups, such as celebrities and Jewish Holocaust victims. If members do so, they may forfeit their new family-search privileges. Other corrective action may also be taken."

CNN reports that Parvin Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President’s sister, lost her bid for a seat in the parliamentary elections, which is viewed as a blow to the leader and, according to one analyst, a “possible sign of fraud.” Running in her family’s hometown of Garmsar, Ahmadinejad was defeated by a conservative rival in Friday’s elections […]

Occupy AIPAC is a weekend long series of events to coincide with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual Policy Conference, going through March 6. The Occupy AIPAC website says the group is gathering in Washington DC for a policy-style summit on the issues of Iran, the Arab Uprising and Palestine and "the affects of AIPAC in determining US foreign policy around those topics."

After moving the Rebbe's home at 770 Eastern Parkway to Israel, Lubavitch now moves the Kotel to America. My advice to you is, fasten the bolts and beams in your house, or one morning you'll wake up to discover Lubavitch has moved you to a new continent…

So who are the Megillah characters in this round? We definitely have our Hamman in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. King Achashverosh should be President Barack Obama. Benjamin Netanyahu would be Esther, given his direct dealings with the ruler of the free world. And, if you ask me, I'm voting in favor of Amos Yadlin for the role of Mordechai. On June 7, 1981, Amos Yadlin, who later became chief of Israel's military intelligence, was one of eight Israeli fighter pilots who bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.